The Plan
by capm
Summary: Sofia becomes entangled in a Plan that could cost her the Amulet of Avalor along with her family. Can she break away from the Plan?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1** :

 _I can't believe it! Another failing grade on my homework! What's going on?_ Sofia thought to herself, as she got back her homework from yesterday.

"How'd you do on this one, Sofia?" asked Amber amiably.

"Oh," stated Sofia dejectedly, "I messed up on my homework again, Amber! And I checked it three times Tuesday night to make sure I did it right! What's wrong with me?"

"Sofia, there is nothing wrong with you. Maybe you've just hit a tough spot in our studies. You'll break out of it soon!" said Amber soothingly.

"Yeah, Sof." interjected James. "We all hit the wall sometimes, but it passes quickly!"

"I sure hope so!" replied Sofia, but not with much conviction.

But the 'tough spots' were starting to affect Sofia in other areas too.

Today, in Sorcery class, there was a quiz on transforming materials into precious gems. Sofia had always done well on this and felt sure she'd do well here. She was being annoyed by a beetle, but she just brushed it aside gently, and proceeded.

"Rubio!" Sofia ordered the red brick, and it changed into a ruby.

"Diamondio !" said Sofia as she confidently waved her wand at the glass and changed it into a diamond.

"Saphhiria!" exclaimed Sofia and the blue earthenware changed into a Sapphire.

But just as Mistress Merryweather was coming around to check the results, Sofia's transformed items changed into red dust, an onion, and a blueberry! Sadly, Mistress Merryweather had to give Sofia a failing mark. Sofia was dumbfound. Amber and James, along with the rest of the class looked on in concern.

It continued in ballet class after school. Sofia, Amber and Kari were practicing there ballet steps, and were going to start to rehearse there dance for the Spring show, which was in five weeks. Sofia had put on her tutu and ballet shoes and started warming up. Her warm-ups went perfectly.

"Looking good, Sofia!" complimented Kari.

"Indeed! She looks great!" added Amber.

"Thanks! At least there is ONE THING, I'm not messing up!" replied Sofia, as she brushed a butterfly off her ballet slippers.

The three princesses started their dance, when...

"OH NO!" cried Sofia as she lost her balance and crashed to the floor.

"Are you okay?" asked Amber and Kari in unison.

"I...think so." replied a subdued Sofia.

But the rest of the ballet rehearsal went just as badly. Sofia was missing steps, falling into Kari and Amber, and falling down. The practice couldn't end soon enough!

"Ohhhhhhhhh! I messed up again!" said Sofia to no one in particular.

On the ride back to the castle, Amber could see that Sofia wanted to be left alone to her thoughts as they rode home in silence.

As they left, a sinister individual thought to themselves _Ahhh! The Plan is working well I see. With a little patience, I will possess that which I cherish!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

At least at home, most things went normally for Sofia, except for her homework. And that gave Sofia some solace because in four weeks, the twins would celebrate a birthday, and she wanted to surprise them with something special she was making.

Sofia had started to make small stained glass objects about a month ago. Her Aunt Tilly had taught her the basics the last time she visited the castle, and Sofia seemed to be a natural.

"Sofia, dear," remarked Aunt Tilly, "you have really gotten good at creating the fine lattice metal structure to support you pieces of stained glass! The sun catcher you made is very nice! It just needs a bit more work to ensure that the small stained glass pieces don't fall out."

"Thanks, Aunt Tilly! When I get really good at this, I'll make a sun catcher for you, as well as for Mom, Dad and the twins!" replied Sofia.

But Sofia wasn't going to give James and Amber each a sun catcher for their birthday. She decided to make a stained glass amulet necklace for Amber, and a stained glass badge for James. She was going to adorn the front of each with sun stones that would spell out "With Love" whenever the necklace and badge were struck by the sun. Underneath it, she would spell out the same message in moonstars, so that the letters would glow in the dark. On the back, she would inscribe, "from your Loving Sister, Sofia". When she was working on these gifts, all of the day's setbacks were forgotten.

Clover got a good look at the gifts in process along with Mia and Robin.

"Boy, Sof, those are going to be great when you finish them!" Clover stated.

"They're going to be the hit of the birthday party for your brother and sister!" stated Mia. Robin agreed.

"Thanks, guys! I wanted to make something extra special for James and Amber's birthday! I hope they like it!"

"They will," stated Robin.

"Well, I better quit for the night, and double check my homework again! I've got to do better with my studies!" And Sofia took her homework out of her backpack and actually triple checked it. Everything looked fine, as she put it back in her backpack, to hand in tomorrow. She didn't notice an ant scurry into her backpack before she sealed it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Unfortunately for Sofia, things didn't improve the next day. Once again her homework was riddled with errors. Flying Derby practice was horrible. One particular horsefly was pestering her, as soon as she got to the stables.

"Alright, team! Let's take a lap around the track!" ordered Coach Gilliam.

But as Sofia and Minimus started their run...

"Whoahhhhhh, Minimus!" cried Sofia. "I can't hold on to the saddle!"

"I'll take us down," replied Minimus as he made a beeline for the ground. Good thing too. About 10 feet above a haystack, Sofia completely slipped off of Minimus.

"NO! SOFIA!" cried Minimus. Luckily, Sofia landed in the hay. James and the rest of the team rushed over.

"Sofia! Are you alright?" Sir Gilliam asked.

"Yes...I'm fine."

"What happened? It didn't appear that Minimus did anything out of the ordinary!" asked James.

"He...didn't. I just slipped off the saddle!" Sofia replied sadly.

"Maybe you should stay away from training for a bit, Sofia! I don't want you getting hurt!" stated the coach.

"Okay," replied Sofia, as a tear ran down her cheek. She sent a soulful glance to a very sad Minimus, as he slowly walked back to the stable.

Art class was another disaster.

Mistress Flora provided a beautiful arrangement of flowers for the class to paint. Sofia sketched the flowers in pencil first, then proceeded to color them in. A midge fluttered close by. But nothing was going right! When she tried to apply a small dab of paint on her painter's pallet, a large blob came out and leaked onto the floor!

"I'm so sorry!" said Sofia in horror, as she went about cleaning the mess. Mistress Flora was concerned, and decided to keep an eye on Sofia.

After cleaning up the mess, Sofia started to paint, but she couldn't stay within her sketch lines! Colors were mixed up and the picture ended up like a scrawl by a young baby. Sofia was horrified.

"Sofia, stay after class please," instructed Mistress Flora.

Sofia dejectedly sat down as the class filed out. Just outside of the door, James and Amber decided to eavesdrop.

"Sofia, what has gotten into you lately? Your homework is a shambles; you are painting like you've never held a paint brush before; your sorcery is a mess and I understand your dancing has been a disaster and you actually fell off your horse in Flying Wing practice!"

"I...I don't know Mistress Flora! It seems that the harder I try, the worse I do.

"I haven't done anything right for about three weeks," Sofia added almost in a whisper.

"Are you ill, Sofia?" a concerned Mistress Flora asked.

"No, I feel fine. It's like my hands and feet won't do what my brain wants them to do."

Sofia added with tears in her eyes, "Maybe I'm really not meant to be a royal, Mistress Flora! Maybe I'm just too ordinary, and not special enough!" James and Amber were taken aback in the hallway.

"Oh, Sofia," soothed Mistress Flora, "I don't think that's the problem at all!"

Then as Sofia burst into tears she begged, "Then please, please tell me what is! I'm embarrassing myself, my bother and sister, and my parents now!"

But Mistress Flora didn't have an answer, and Sofia left quietly for the coach ride home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

James and Amber hurried to the coach before Sofia.

"We've got to help her!" said a very concerned James.

"I agree!" replied Amber. "You help her with her homework and I'll help her with her drawing, painting and dancing!"

As Sofia slowly entered the coach, James and Amber sprung their idea on her.

"Sofia, James and I are going to help you over this! James will work homework with you, and I will handle the arts. We'll beat this together!" Amber stated with an exuberant thumbs up from James.

Sofia cracked a smile of relief. She got up and hugged her brother and sister. "Thank you!"

That evening, right after dinner, James worked with Sofia on their homework.

"Your homework looks fine to me, Sof! I don't see how you can get a failing mark on this one!" James said with conviction.

"Thanks, James! I'm going to put this in my backpack and seal it for tomorrow!" said Sofia happily as she gave him a big hug. An unseen ant also got sealed in the backpack as well.

Just as they finished, Amber showed up. "Ready to do some drawing, painting and dancing, Sofia?"

"Yes! Yes I am" said a happy Sofia. She was sure she had it beat. The practice session with Amber went off without a hitch. She hugged Amber saying, "Thank you!"

"That's what sister's are for!" replied a happy Amber.

Sofia then went to her stained glass project for her sister and brother. Their birthday is this Saturday, only two days away, and Sofia was putting finishing touches on them.

Exhausted, but happy, Sofia went to bed early and fell blissfully asleep. All she could hear was the flutter of a butterfly in her room, as she nodded off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Mistress Fauna decided to go over the homework in class on Friday, instead of handing them back on Monday.

"Alright, class! Hand your homework to the student next to you, and we will go over it today." Mistress Fauna said.

Amber was sitting next to Sofia, so she got Sofia's homework. As Mistress Fauna proceeded, Amber was getting sadder and sadder. When it became time to return the homework to the original student, Sofia had failed!

"I'm...I'm sorry, Sofia! James must have done poorly as well," stated a sad Amber. But they were surprised that James scored a perfect grade!

James had a quizzical look on his face as he looked over Sofia's homework.

"Sofia, what happened? When did you take the homework out and change the answers?"

"I...I didn't, James," replied a very blue Sofia. "I didn't open the backpack until just now in class."

"But...how'd did this happen?"

"I don't know!" Sofia added sadly.

There wasn't an art class today, but there was dance class.

Amber tried to lift Sofia's spirits as she shooed away a fly. "You'll do fine today, Sofia! It will be just like last night at the castle."

Sofia answered in a whisper, "I...hope so, Amber."

But once again Sofia was missing steps, and falling into Amber and Kari. Sofia ran from the class sobbing.

Amber went after her just in time to hear her say, "I'm...I'm not special enough to be a royal. It's true! Even with Amber and James' help, I'm still messing up!" And she curled into a sobbing ball in a corner of the hall.

Amber, with a tear in her eye gently touched Sofia's arm.

"Come on, sister," she said quietly, "let's go home."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As the quiet coach ride arrived at the castle, Sofia ran off and straight to her room.

"Maybe we should tell Dad and Mom," stated a concerned James.

"I think she'll get over it. We'll make sure she has a good time tomorrow at our birthday party, and she will be our happy Sofia again," answered Amber.

"But what about the school problems? Sooner or later the fairies are going to want an audience with Dad and Mom."

"You're right!" said Amber thoughtfully. "But let's tell them Sunday. Hopefully things will work out by then."

"Okay," replied James.

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Sofia cried on her bed for a good hour.

 _I can't just cry the night away! I have to put the finishing touches on James and Amber's birthday gifts_ she thought to herself.

While she was working on the gifts, Ballywick came to her room.

"Princess Sofia! You are late for dinner. Is everything alright?" he asked with concern.

"Everything is fine, Ballywick. I just need to put the finishing touches on James and Amber's birthday gifts," replied Sofia.

"Very well. I will let the King and Queen know that you are working on a project and asked not to be disturbed."

"Thanks, Ballywick!"

Sofia finished the necklace and badge and they came out better than she expected. Tired but happy, she fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was Saturday and final preparations were being made for the twins' birthday.

Queen Miranda looked over the ballroom. "Everything is lovely, Ballywick!"

"Thank you, your Majesty!"

"Now I need to get the twins out of the castle so Rollie can bring their gifts in without them seeing them.

"I know! Duchess Tilly is coming in for the party! She and I will take the twins into the village to get some candles."

And within the hour, the Duchess Matilda had arrived. Queen Miranda and King Roland greeted her.

"Tilly! I'm so glad you were able to make the party!" exclaimed Roland.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" she replied.

"Good to see you again, Tilly!" Miranda said warmly, as she embraced her.

"You, too, dear! I can't wait to see children! I have the twins' gifts in the back of the coach."

"Tilly, would you be kind enough to accompany me to the village to get candles for the cake? We'll take the twins and Sofia too. That way Rollie can get our gifts into the ballroom without the twins seeing them."

"Of course, Miranda."

The twins were somewhat happy to see their Aunt Tilly, but Sofia was very happy.

"Aunt Tilly! I'm so happy to see you! Will you come with me so I can show you my latest stained glass project?" Sofia asked.

Tilly glanced at Miranda, who smiled and said, "That's alright Tilly. The twins will come with me to the village so we can pick out just the right candles for the cake." And the threesome were on their way.

"Why, Sofia dear, you seem very excited about this project!"

"I am, Aunt Tilly! But I want to get your opinion."

Soon Tilly and Sofia were in Sofia's room.

"This is what I made for the twins," and she showed Aunt Tilly the necklace and badge.

Tilly gave them a smiling once over.

"They are beautiful, Sofia! I especially like the 'With love' lettering in sun stones and moonstars. The signature on the back is very touching as well. I'm sure they will prize these gifts for a long time."

"I hope so, Aunt Tilly, because nothing has been going right this past month for me!" said Sofia, as she wrapped the gifts.

"Oh? Why don't you tell me about it, dear."

And Sofia did. She went through all the scenarios of wrong homework, poor class work, and terrible extra curricular activities.

"Hmmmm, I see. Have you talked to your Mom and Dad about this, dear?"

"No...I'm too embarrassed and ashamed to!"

"Sofia! You should never feel embarrassed or ashamed to talk anything over with your parents. You know they love you and will help you any way they can! I really think you should tell them."

"Okay...But tomorrow, after today's birthday party."

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As Queen Miranda was waiting for the candles to be wrapped, James and Amber saw a woman peddler they had never seen before down the street.

"Necklaces and badges for a half penny! Get them here! Ahhh, children interested in my necklaces and badges?"

"No thanks," replied James.

"Why not? I remember some princess of some sort buying one of each for a birthday today"

"I'm SURE it's not anyone we know!" insisted Amber.

"Maybe. Maybe not. At least look at the design!" She said as she gave them a good look before packing up and leaving.

"Who were you children talking to?" asked Miranda, as the twins returned to the coach.

"Oh, some peddler selling junk jewelry!" replied Amber.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It was finally time for the big birthday party! Sofia was so excited, she caught Amber and James before they went into the ballroom, where Dad, Mom and Aunt Tilly awaited them, with the rest of the castle staff.

"I wanted to give you your gifts first!" Sofia said proudly.

"Why thank you, Sofia!" exclaimed Amber.

"Yeah, thanks Sof!" seconded James.

But the initial joy the twins had, turned to embarrassment and disappointment. These were the necklace and badge that the peddler woman was selling.

Sofia asked excitedly, "Do you like them?"

"Oh...they're okay, I guess," said Amber.

"Yeah, Sof," replied James.

Sofia could see the disappointment in their faces. She felt even worse when they turned the corner, thinking she wasn't watching and carelessly tossed the gifts onto a hall table, like a piece of junk.

Sofia was crushed. She turned and ran to her bedroom, crying.

"It's true! It's true! I'm really not fit to be a royal! I can't even make nice gifts for the ones I love. Instead I disappoint them!" she said as she buried her head in her pillow. Too bad Clover was visiting a cousin, and Mia and Robin were visiting family, because that meant Sofia was all alone. The threesome wouldn't be back until later tonight.

 _I've...I've got to stop embarrassing and disappointing myself and my family. And the only way to do that is to leave. I won't hurt their feelings ever again! They won't have to make up any more excuses for me!_

With her mind made up Sofia sat at her writing desk. She wrote two notes through her tears:

"Dear Clover, Minimus, Mia, and Robin,

I've decided to no longer be an embarrassment and disappointment to my family or anyone else, so I am leaving.

I'll miss you all! You were the best friends anyone could ever have asked for. Treat Amber and James well.

I'll miss you all!

Love,

Sofia"

and then the hardest one,

"Dear Dad, Mom, Aunt Tilly, Amber and James,

Based on what has been happening over the past month, I now know that I am not special enough to be a royal. I have been failing at school, both in my lessons and after school activities, even with James and Amber helping me. I have been an embarrassment and disappointment to you all. I can't even provide a proper gift for James and Amber on their birthday! It won't happen anymore. I've decided to leave.

There will always be a special place in my heart for you all, and I will miss you. After I'm gone, maybe you will remember me and the good times we had. Hopefully they outnumbered the bad.

Love you all,

Sofia"

Sofia then placed her tiara on the second note, and changed from her royal gown into the dress she wore when she arrived at the castle, oh so long ago. But she did forget one thing. She had gotten so used to wearing her amulet, she forgot to leave it behind as well. She collected a few cherished gifts from the family, put them in her backpack and stole out of her room, and out of the castle.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Amber and James entered the ballroom and were greeted with a hearty, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

The twins were about to open their gifts when King Roland said, "Wait! We must wait for your sister!"

"Where is she? She was right behind us!" said Amber, in a bit put off manner.

"Ballywick? See if you can find Sophia!" ordered King Roland.

"Oh, don't bother, Rollie. I'll find her!" replied Tilly.

"Okay, Tilly."

As Aunt Tilly left, something caught her eye just off to the side, on a table. As she went over to investigate, she found Amber and James' gifts. Instead of looking for Sofia, she returned to the ballroom with the necklace and badge.

"Whose are these?" she asked.

"Oh, those are the gifts Sofia gave to us," replied James in an offhanded manner.

"And you toss them aside like fireplace ash?" Aunt Tilly asked.

"Why not?" countered Amber. "We can always get new ones for half a penny in the village!"

Tilly walked over to the twins and said, "What ever gave you that idea?"

"A peddler woman in the village. She was selling them for a half penny each," replied James defensively.

"Really? Did the ones she was selling glow in the sunlight or other bright light like these do?"

Amber and James racked their brains to remember. "Well, no. They were kind of dull." answered James quietly. Amber shook her head in agreement.

"Well, let's take a look at these in the bright candle light, shall we?" And Aunt Tilly led both of them to the brightest spot in the ballroom. King Roland and Queen Miranda followed.

"Do you see the letters shining on the necklace and badge? What does it say, Amber?"

Amber cleared her throat as she read aloud, "It says 'With Love' in sun stones."

"Does your badge say the same thing, James?" James shook his head yes. Both he and Amber were starting to feel embarrassed.

Aunt Tilly wasn't done. "Now let's dowse all of the candles," as she waved her wand. "What do you see, James?"

"The same message, 'With Love', Aunt Tilly, in moonstars," he said in a whisper. Aunt Tilly then relit all the candles with a spell from her wand.

"Did either of you even bother looking at the back?"

The children's eyes were filling with tears as they shook their heads 'No'.

"It reads, 'from your Loving Sister, Sofia'," Aunt Tilly stated, as an embarrassed James and Amber looked on.

James and Amber slowly reached for their gifts. As they did, Aunt Tilly softened her tone.

"As you can see children, these are very special hand made gifts that Sofia wanted you to have."

Amber looked at James and stated, "They...they are. And they are beautiful! James, we owe Sofia a BIG apology!"

"We sure do! Let's go!" and they made a beeline for her room.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

As the children rushed to Sofia's room, Aunt Tilly, Mom, Dad and Ballywick followed quickly.

"Sofia?" asked Amber as she knocked on the bedroom door. Slowly she opened it. "Sofia, I know you are upset with James and I, please, can we talk?"

But as the door opened wide, they could see that the room was empty.

"She has to be here!" exclaimed James, as he and Amber started searching the room.

Soon Dad, Mom, Aunt Tilly and Ballywick arrived. They entered the room as well.

"Where could she be?" asked King Roland.

It was then that Queen Miranda cried out, "NO! Oh, no!" She was holding Sofia's note and tiara. King Roland and Aunt Tilly quickly went to the Queen's side, and also read the note.

"Ballywick! Call out the guards! We must put together a search party at once!" King Roland commanded.

"Right away your Majesty!" replied Ballywick as he went to get Constable Miles.

Queen Miranda sat weakly at Sofia's writing desk, and was crying inconsolably.

"Don't worry, Miranda! We'll find her!" soothed Roland, as he placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"I'm going to go out now and search," stated Aunt Tilly. "The guards can follow. Maybe I can find her quickly." And with that Tilly left the bedroom. She went out the castle gate, opened her satchel and pulled out her blank magic map paper.

"Magic map paper, show me where Sofia is!" Tilly commanded. The map showed her that Sofia was heading for the Black Forest. Tilly relayed that message to the gate guard and instructed him to let Constable Miles and the search party know where to look.

Back in Sofia's bedroom, James and Amber got to read Sofia's note. Amber broke down in tears and James hung his head.

"This is all our fault," James said. Amber agreed.

But Miranda interceded. "No children, it isn't. Your rejection of her gifts may have been the tipping point, but this has been building for a month. Why didn't she tell your dad and I?"

Amber softly said, "I think it's because Sofia has always been very independent. She didn't want to trouble you because she honestly thought she could right the ship.

"But whatever the reason, I'm going out with that search party!"

"Me too!" added James.

King Roland heard them and said, "We will all go.

"Here is Constable Miles."

"Your Majesty, I have assembled a search party."

"Good! We will join it as well."

"I don't believe that is a good idea, Highness. Duchess Matilda left word that the Princess is heading for the Black Forest, and that is a very dangerous place."

"All the more reason to have more eyes and ears to search!"

Constable Miles could see he couldn't change the King's or his family's mind, so he arranged for a covered coach to transport the royal family.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Sofia really wasn't paying much attention as to where she was going. She knew the Black Forest was dangerous, but she didn't realize she was heading straight for it. She traveled for about half a mile into the Black Forest, when she decided to rest at the base of a willow tree. As she looked down the path, she could see the castle in the distance. She lowered her head, and began to weep.

Suddenly, Sofia found herself unable to move! Her entire body was trapped in some sort of vine!

"What's going on?" she asked in alarm!

Then she heard a laugh she knew only too well. As she looked to her left, she saw Miss Nettle!

"Well, well! I have a guest! Keep a tight grip on her, Rosie!"

"I will, boss!"

"Miss Nettle! What do you want?" asked Sofia.

"Why your precious amulet of course, darling! Out here it will be relatively easy to take!"

"I won't let you have it!"

"And how are you going to stop me? You really ought to congratulate me on my plan. It worked to perfection!"

"What plan?" asked Sofia quizzically.

"Why my plan to isolate you from your loved ones so I could grab that amulet!

"You probably noticed, darling, that you were doing very poorly on your class work and in your extra curricular activities. That was all part of my brilliant plan!" and with that some flowers started to applaud.

Miss Nettle continued, "Thank you, Thank you! You are too kind!"

"How were you able to carry out your plan?" asked Sofia.

"Easy, darling! I was all of the insects that bothered you over this past month. I carried some of my crazy crystals with me, and the crystals did the rest!" Again the flowers applauded.

"Thank you, keep it up! With each passing failure, your confidence took a hit. I figured that it would take about a month to convince you that you didn't belong as a royal, and would run away!

" The final straw was when I as a butterfly saw your design for your brother and sister's gifts, I simply conjured up some paper ones, and planted the seed that the gifts were essentially worthless! Obviously your brother and sister took the bait hook, line, and sinker, and let you know about it!" Now the trees joined the flowers in applause.

"Thank you, Thank you. So now, all I need to do is take that amulet, and my plan will have worked flawlessly!" And Miss Nettle started to move closer to Sofia.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Miss Nettle!" cried out a voice from the rear.

"Who said that?" Miss Nettle demanded.

"I did!" and Aunt Tilly stepped into the open. "Don't you DARE lay a hand on that child!"

"Oh? Let's see how you handle one of my isolation bubbles!"

"AUNT TILLY! LOOK OUT!" cried Sofia.

But it was too late! Aunt Tilly was encased in a bubble.

"Now that I've taken care of you, I will take my amulet! You're no match for the number one fairy in these parts."

But as Miss Nettle moved forward, a metal wall sprang up between her and Sofia.

"WHAT?" Miss Nettle screamed.

Aunt Tilly was out of the bubble and had cast a spell to erect the metal wall.

"Leave the child alone, Miss Nettle and leave. You may be a fairy, but I was the number one sorcerer at Royal Prep in my day, and I have the competition ribbons to prove it!"

Miss Nettle, seething with rage faced Aunt Tilly.

"So you want a sorcerer's showdown do you? Well, your on! I didn't go through all of this trouble for nothing!" And Miss Nettle ordered a tree to grab Aunt Tilly.

But Tilly was quick with her own wand. First she stopped the tree, then she cast a spell forcing Rosie to let Sofia go. "Run, dear!"

"NO! I won't allow it!" cried Miss Nettle as she readied to cast another spell. She only made one mistake - she left her wand exposed for more than a few seconds. Aunt Tilly aimed her wand at Nettle's and yanked Nettle's wand from her hand, straight to Aunt Tilly's.

"There! Now you have no power here, Miss Nettle! Take your accursed Rosie with you and leave, or I'll break your wand!"

"Now, ...now you wouldn't do that, would you?!" pleaded Miss Nettle.

"I most certainly would, and you would be totally helpless! So take off and don't return to Enchancia ever again!"

With that, Miss Nettle took flight and took Rosie with her.

Sofia ran up to her Aunt and gave her a big hug. "Aunt Tilly, you were great!"

"Thank you, dear." Aunt Tilly then got down to Sofia's level and said quietly, as she put away Miss Nettle's and her own wand. "Are you ready to go home now, dear?"

Sofia hesitated. "I'm...I'm so ashamed, Aunt Tilly. What will I say? How can I face Dad, Mom, the twins and everyone else?"

"Sofia! You don't have to say anything. Your actions will do your talking for you!"

Just then they could hear King Roland. "Sofia! Sofia, where are you? Please let us know where you are?"

He was joined by Queen Miranda. "Sofia, please come back to me!"

As Sofia walked with her Aunt Tilly toward the King and Queen, tears started to roll down her cheeks..

Aunt Tilly called out, "I've found her! She is safe and unharmed!"

"Tilly, is that you?" asked the King anxiously.

"Yes, Rollie! We are both coming to meet you!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

It didn't take long for Sofia and Tilly to catch sight of the King and Queen. As soon as they caught sight of her, her parents hurried toward her, but they weren't fast enough. James and Amber beat them.

"Sofia, we are so, so sorry!" said Amber through her tears, as she hugged her sister.

"Are you okay?" asked James, as he also hugged his sister.

"I'm...I'm okay!" replied Sofia. She then noticed that Amber was wearing her necklace and James his badge.

"I thought you didn't like the gifts," Sofia said softly, casting her eyes downward.

But Amber gave her a big hug. "Me? Not like a special necklace like this? I'll be wearing it every day!"

"And I'll be doing the same with my badge," added James through a big hug.

Then Roland and Miranda got to the threesome. James and Amber let their sister go, and Sofia was immediately engulfed by the hugs and kisses of her parents.

"I'm so, so very sorry!" exclaimed Sofia to her parents. As she started to cry.

"It's all right, Sofia! Everything will be all right!" soothed her Mom.

"We're just glad your safe!" exclaimed Roland.

Aunt Tilly happily watched as the family reunion continued, as did Ballywick.

After a few minutes, Ballywick suggested, "I think it would be quite appropriate for us to continue this happy occasion back at the castle."

"We can combine the birthday party with the reunion!" suggested Aunt Tilly. The King and Queen smiled and agreed. So did the children.

As the happy family returned to the castle, Sofia caught sight of the just returning Clover, Mia and Robin, holding her note.

"Excuse me for a moment," she said as she walked quickly to them.

Clover with a sad face showed her the note. "You aren't going to leave, are you Sof?" he asked softly.

"No, Clover! We can throw that note out. Everything is going to be fine now!" said Sofia as she gave him a big hug.

"That's a relief!" exclaimed Robin.

"Sure is! You had us worried! You'll have to tell us what happened to make you write this note," added Mia.

"I will, guys...before I go to sleep tonight!" assured Sofia.

The rest of the evening was spent at the double party. Everyone had a fine time, especially James, Amber and Sofia. Aunt Tilly quietly noted that the children were never closer, to Roland and Miranda. They both happily agreed, and Ballywick smiled, nodding his head.

When it was time for the party to break up, everyone wished each other good night. Sofia made a special effort to give her Mom, Dad, Aunt, James, Amber and a surprised Ballywick a big hug, which was returned. She then went happily to her room, and explained everything to Clover, Mia, and Robin. All were happy that everything was straightened out, and then, after wishing each other a good night, fell happily asleep.

That evening, Tilly explained to Roland and Miranda what Miss Nettle had done to Sofia, and how she had tricked James and Amber.

"We will need to talk to the head mistresses at Royal Prep early Monday before school starts, so we can straighten that out as well!" stated Miranda. Roland agreed.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to join you," stated Tilly. "I'll want to show the fairies a spell that can detect crazy crystals. They may not have run across one yet!"

"You are welcome to join us, Tilly. After all, you are family too!" said Miranda warmly.

"Whizbang!" responded Tilly.

On Monday, the entire royal family arrived early at Royal Prep and explained what had happened. The fairies were understandably shaken that Miss Nettle had invaded the school, and worked her treachery there.

"Thank you, Tilly for that crazy crystal detect spell!" stated Mistress Merryweather. "I'm going to sweep the entire campus today and make sure all of those crystals have been neutralized!"

"While Merryweather is doing that, Fauna and I will cast a detection spell over the entire grounds of Royal Prep. It will alert us to any of those foul crystals appearing on the campus!" affirmed Mistress Flora.

"Couldn't you just cast a protection spell over the campus?" asked James.

"No, James. That would consume more power than we possess together! If any of the crystals are detected, we can neutralize them, but a protection spell requires just too much power!" exclaimed Mistress Fauna.

With Mistress Merryweather clearing all crazy crystals off the campus, Sofia and the rest of the school returned to normal.

At lunch, Hildegard remarked to Amber, "Ohhhhhh! I LOVE your new necklace!"

"Thanks, Hildy," replied Amber.

Then Clio remarked, "Oh look! It spells out 'With Love' when the sun catches it!"

"That's right, Clio! It was a gift from the best sister ever for my birthday this weekend! She made it herself!"

Hildegard and Clio smiled in Sofia's direction.

"You do beautiful work, Sofia!" remarked Clio. Sofia smiled back.

A bit later, Zandar noticed James' badge. "Whoa, James! That's a nice badge! And it spells 'With Love' when the sun catches it!"

"It is special from a very special sister. Sofia made it for me for my birthday! And look!" as James cupped his hand over it to put it in the dark. "It spells the same thing in moonstars!"

And Sofia was back to normal as well. Her homework was coming back correctly done, as usual, and her spell casting was flawless! Her artistic talent again showed through, and she was in perfect step with Amber and Kari in ballet. Minimus was relieved that Sofia was herself again, as he was mentally beating himself up for her fall from the saddle. Knowing it really wasn't his fault made him very happy.

"I'm glad you're okay, Sofia, and doubly glad it wasn't me who dropped you from the saddle!" Minimus stated.

"That's okay, Minimus!" said Sofia happily. "You always take good care of me when I ride you! I knew it wasn't your fault!"

At weeks end, Sofia commented to Amber and James as they rode home from school, "It sure is nice for everything to be back to normal!"

James and Amber agreed.

"It's even better having you both as brother and sister!" Sofia exclaimed as she gave each a big hug.

"Agreed!" said Amber as she returned the hug.

"Ditto!" added James as he returned his hug also.


End file.
